Joe Murray’s KaBoing TV

Taking DIY to a whole new level, animator Joe Murray (Rocko’s Modern Life and Camp Lazlo) has launched his own personal cartoon channel on the internet, Kaboing TV, and with it the debut of his new animation series Frog In A Suit.

Joe raised funds to produce Frog In A Suit on Kickstarter and received over 346 “backers” to meet his funding goal in 45 days. Three original episodes were produced for the launch of Kaboing – The third episode makes its debut on Friday, the second is already posted there, below is the first one:

before the cartoon starts we are told that it is rated “G”, but half way into the cartoon is this line:

“lily, come back. i want to make tadpoles with you.”

i have no problem with adult humor, but i don’t think a cartoon with a line like that would be given a “G” rating by the film board.

despite that, i wish mr. murray much luck and great success with this project.

Brian

Not to mention a character’s head exploded- not sure if that counts as “mild gross humor”.

2011 Adult

What other shows could work on this channel, I wonder? I love to see what winds up there!

dr. truth

I was wondering when cartoonbrew was going to chime in on this.

I think this whole kaboink tv idea is wonderful!!!

“Frog In a Suit” IS a very good cartoon!! I’m actually very impressed by the humor, characters and the DIY spirit behind it.

Not only does Joe have balls, the show is good!

And I’d like to say that Joe Murray is very inspiring by doing this!!
While “other” cartoonists from the early 90′s nicktoon era just took it lying down, complained how things have changed, Joe said:
“F**k that, f**k networks, I’m going to make the cartoon I want to make, and put it out there.”
Major respect!! Very very inspiring!!!

I hope to hell this is a hit.

http://dtoons.com/conroy Failing Art Student

That’s really cool. I hope I can make something for Kaboing TV someday.

http://bakertoons.blogspot.com/ Charles Brubaker

I liked the second episode. Nice to see Michael Jantze is still working.

http://comedyforanimators.com/ Jonathan Lyons

Joe is making room for other independent animators to showcase their work. I would encourage people to send him content and link to his site.

Anonymous

Quality production. I “bought” the season for the price of a DVD box set as a token of support for future original series.

Russell H

That rumbling sound in the background is Ub Iwerks turning over (seriously, I did like this a lot).

http://los-utopicos.blogspot.com allari

Wow! Joe Murray was one of my heroes in my teen years! It’s nice to see his work again.

http://www.facebook.com/KaboingTV Suzanne

Jerry, THANK YOU for posting this! I am one of the Kickstarter backers. I was so inspired by Joe’s vision that I contacted him to help him. I am a fan of animation – not in the industry.

I didn’t really know much about Joe Murray before I contacted him (however, I have been a fan of Rocko since the 90′s). Through my “projects”, I have had the honor of getting to know him on a more personal level. I have never met a more appreciative person. He also cares so much about the industry and his fans. He has witnessed a lot of great ideas being shelved, never to see the light of day. I assume this endeavor comes from that and his own experience of not having certain options with his shows after signing deals with the networks. He also is inspired by the amazing talent in the industry (including new/young talent). He hopes that this idea can become another avenue for animators. If KaboingTV becomes big enough, it would offer funding for new projects/series as well (opportunities for outside creators).

I hope all animators and fans embrace this project (even if you aren’t a fan of Joe or his work). If a project like this gets enough attention, the networks will have to notice and hopefully start funding more animation projects as well. There has to be demand and support for the industry to change. Also, for those who think that Joe is trying to promote himself â€“ he’s not. He is sincerely trying to initiate change in the industry. Joe has had opportunities to make money and drop this idea â€“ instead, he has called for a lot of favors and used a lot of his own savings to produce a show of this quality. He has also worked tirelessly trying not to disappoint the Kickstarter backers and fans.

I would recommend watching “Tricky Business”. It is a longer episode and has had a very positive response. Carlos Alazraqui and Jill Talley also provide voices for that episode. Tom Kenny is in “Mind Your Tongue” which premiers on Friday. Also, there is a new Indie Showcase section â€“ check out “McDonough” by Kyle Stephens. More independent films will be featured soon.

Anyone who wants to support this effort â€“ share http://www.KaboingTV.com with friends and fans of animation. Also, embed the episodes (from youtube) into your blog or facebook etc. Spread the word. This project needs word of mouth support as well!

Stephen M. Levinson

While I’m a fan of Rockos Modern Life and while I think the independent animation studio idea is great, hasn’t Aniboom.com already paved the way for independent artists? Even YouTube and Vimeo give a place for animators to create independent shorts and distribute them. Aniboom seems to really get it, because they don’t host videos on other sites, they host it on Aniboom which is for just animation. Another reason I see Joe’s idea not being fully laid out is that he’s only launched with 3 episodes of 1 show. A network of animation (think Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Disney) have tons of shows. Launching with 1 show and 3 episodes should have been thought over. Also, he controls what is independently put on Kaboing TV right? You can’t sign up as a user and upload videos. I think this is a very large downfall to the whole idea.

From an idealistic stand-point this is a great idea, but fundamentally this won’t be a successful business. Which is why Youtube especially hosts ads on the page, to pay the people who create the content. Some of the ads are alittle annoying, but many collect revenue from ads that are just on the side of the screen as their videos play. Asking viewers to pay isn’t going to work.

Maybe Joe should launch his cartoon threw Aniboom instead.

JPilot

This comment was brought to you by Aniboom.com.
(Never mind, you go get ‘em, Joe!)

Stephen M. Levinson

Ah yes, a rebuttal with no explanation to a comment with detailed points.

The Gee

Stephen,
There’s thinking Big, thinking small and then there’s not thinking at all.

However, the guy thought it through it is probably fair to say that he considered his options on when to show the endeavor to the world. That seems to be where he is at right now: Premier.

What happens next is something he either says or shows, I’m guessing. But, it shouldn’t concern me much. I saw this short without looking for it, didn’t I? I’m sure the rest of the content will find its way in front of my eyes eventually; in front of yours, too.

I’d say cut him a little slack right now instead of second guessing his second guesses.

I’ll freely admit that I haven’t seen either of his two shows but I wish him and those who are doing something similar the best.

Stephen M. Levinson

Good points, The Gee! I agree with you!

http://www.youtube.com/user/OriginalGagBonkerss OriginalGagBonkers

I think Joe Murray is one of the many people in the animation industry that wants it to be more like the 90′s. When animation had the insanity, great animation and story telling, as well as humor inspired by the golden age of cartoons. Talking about sight gags, double takes, and the old saying “In the cartoons, you can do anything”. Before censorship and stupidity from parents who think animation is “just for kids” ruined the the hell out of animation. As well as leaving good ideas and talent thrown away over garbage that nobody wants to look at. Besides, I am a bit surprised that he did Camp Lazlo for Cartoon Network. I didn’t like it one bit.

Seeing upon these two shorts that Joe has made. I can say that I have enjoyed this. And I wish Joe the very best of luck with this. This needs more word of the mouth in order for it to get popular, outside of the fans of Joe Murray. Joe is one of the animators out there that needs to have more respect these days. Same goes for John K, Don Bluth, Ralph Bakshi, Danny Antonucci, Milton Knight, and any artist out there who deserves the work that they want to make. Over the people who are just doing animation as an excuse for cash over entertainment. I may be aware that there are people who have a finger to point at John. But John K is one of the people who helped out the idea for ‘creator driven’ cartoons.

http://youtube.com/MyAngryCat Robochao

Murray is just one of the hardworking souls that keep cartooning alive and well. ’11 just gets better for me with the Beavis and Butthead announcement aswell as new Superjail! and I’m still holdin out for John.K because quality takes time.

So sweet.

http://www.toonhole.com Chris Allison

Awesome work, Joe! Hope you continue to get a lot of support.

http://art-candy.blogspot.com/ Andrea

This is AWESOME! I love it. I was a little surprised when a characters brain exploded though. The characters are great and the gags are funny.

Keegan

I really hope John Krcfalusi does something similar to what Joe Murray is doing.

Props to him! I love Frog in a Suit.

http://alishea.blogspot.com Alishea

KaBoing Tv is great! I love the idea. It’s smll right now but has a ton of potential to grow into something really great not only for Murray, but for new/young & independent animators who want to produce quality content. It’s great that it’s not like aniboom or youtube bc there is some moderation to filter through the junk and only present quality work to the viewers.

Good things take time and well, it’s about time! Way to grab life by the balls, Joe!

Ryoku75

These reminded me of Itchy and Scratchy, but longer and chattier.

Ryoku75

Saw the first episode and kept wondering stuff like “wheres the joke?” and “Will we ever get to see why this character never got sleep?”, instead he keeps mentioning something that actually could’ve made a good episode.

The voice work is… not that good at all, I can speed up myself talking all day or just watch Neurotically Yours.

The animation is.. okay, though flat like Camp Lazlo, in fact this feels like Camp Lazlo but with bad voice work, more dialogue, more potty humor, and random gore (which isn’t funny either, its just gross).

The idea behind Kaboing TV is a good one, though I swear Icebox had tried the same thing.

Either way, Joe needs to get Stephen Hillenburg back, Joe set the dynamite but Stephen lit the fuse.

Sleezy Exec

Its awesome. The fact that he got $20,000 from the public is pretty cool and a great platform for indie animators to work from especially since he didn’t have to go to the bank and ask for a loan or max out credit cards.

Randall F

Best near-funny thing happens near the end ’cause it comes out of nowhere. If Joe keeps ‘em short, they’ll be watchable. Any longer and the endless and obvious dialogue will kill in the wrong way.

Doug

I love the concept of the channel and hope the best for it.

This cartoon though isn’t enough to garner sucess in my opinion. Some of the pregnant pauses are too long, the fart noises are cliche, and the voice acting (while good) is recorded in a way that makes it sound non-pro.

http://www.davidessman.com david essman

also @Keith bellow

this is why you should check out the second episode which is one of the ones with a budget raised with the help of Kickstarter.

The budget helped pay for an animation team and some professional voice acting from Carlos Alazraqui and Jill Talley. As well as Tom Kenny in episode 3.

Everyone needs to understand that if we support this and it gains a strong audience, KaboingTV will be able to grow and make the money necessary to fund more PROFESSIONAL QUALITY animated series.

let’s help this go viral!

GhaleonQ

Exactly. I don’t think people need to support or overrated just because the man’s a great person and talented, but it need to be evaluated with account to cost, collaborators, time, and so on. He’s already demonstrated that this isn’t juvenilia.

Stephen M. Levinson

@David.

That’s awfully thoughtful of you and sounds good in theory. However, there won’t be enough people who will donate a significant amount of money to produce a full professional quality animation. Maybe over the next several months he gets $500, if that from his paypal donation. If he wants to run a kickstarter for every single episode he’s going to produce, that might be an option. But will people continue to fund it over and over again at over $20k each episode?

Right, BUT he doesn’t want any advertising on the site “Keep the site advertising free”

http://www.davidessman.com david essman

no advertising at first. From reading Joe’s blog he’s had meetings with advertisers, but found that there were too many strings attached. So he decided on Kickstarter to fund the project.

The idea is to get the audience and then approach advertisers.

Keith

I like Joe Murray’s work but the production value on this is pretty bad. More in line with a college student project then a professional’s work. I really like the characters and premise, just wish the production would take a step up. The minor quibbles aside, glad to see he’s still producing work, one way or another!

Mark

I am preparing to try my hand at crowd funding, I’m glad to see that it works. Unfortunately last I checked, Kickstarter hasn’t gone international yet. Great stuff, I feel like it can still happen.